Knife adjusting means for microtome



March 14, 1967 R. BURKHARDT 3,308,704

KNIFE ADJUSTING MEANS FOR MICROTOME Filed Nov. 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 2

March 14, 1967 R. BURKHARDT 3,303,704

KNIFE ADJUSTING MEANS FOR MICROTOME Filed Nov. 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Office Claims priority, application Germany, Nov. 11, 1963, 3

C 31, 72 9 Claims. (Cl. 83-699) The present invention relates to a micro-tome and more specifically to means for adjusting the knife of a microtome to bring the knife to the most suitable position for cutting a section of the preparation.

In accordance with the present invention the knife blade of a microtome is mounted so that it may be rotated by guide elements about three axes, these axes being disposed at right angles with respect to each other and preferably intersect at a point. The knife may be firmly clamped in the precise position desired by means of clamping means associated with the guide elements. The

'guide and clamping elements are mounted on a slide which is disposed in rectilinear guideways on a base plate and means is provided for clamping the slide securely in the preselected adjusted position. The slide is adapted to shift in the base plate in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the knife shifts. The guide elements are provided with scales to facilitate positioning the knife and the slide has a manual operating knob to assist adjustment of the slide.

An object of the present invention is to provide a microtome with means for adjusting the position of the knife, said means permitting the knife to be rocked about three different axesextendingat right angles with respect to each other.

Another object of the present invention is to mount the guideelementsforadjusting .the position of the knife of Ta microtome. on a slide, the slide mounted for-rectilinear movement on a base plate.

Other objects and many ofthe attendant advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed specification in connection with the aocompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a microtome, including the knife adjusting means, certain parts being shown in section,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the microtome shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a cross section through the knife adjusting means taken on the line IIIIII of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the apparatus taken along the line IV-IV of FIGURE 1 and,

FIGURE 5 is a view of a portion of the apparatus taken along the line VV of FIGURE 3 The microtome is built on a base plate 10 and includes a housing 12 (FIG. 1) with control and operating means which are not illustrated in detail, and which do not need to be described, these being used to raise and lower the holder 14 and for displacing the same in relation to the knife in the cycle which is required in the performance of the cutting operation. The holder 14 carries the prep: aration 16 which is poured into a transparent plastic casing 16a. The cycle of movements of the holder 14 and the preparation 16 during the cutting operation is diagrammatically indicated by arrows in FIGURE 3.

The knife which is used to cut the preparation into ultra-thin sections is designate-d 18. The long blade 18a thereof may be formed from the knife body itself, in which event it is necessary to fabricate the complete knife from high quality material. Instead, however, for reasons of economy it is possible to take a blade of high quality material, representing the cutting edge, and to mount it on a knife body of less expensive material, for example by adhesion.

The adjusting means used to set the knife blade 18a in a position, relatively to the preparation 16, which is optimum for the performance of the cutting operation are constructed as follows:

A T-shapedguide groove 10a is formed in the base plate 10 and an appropriately-shaped slide 20 is slidable in this groove. A support plate 22 is connected to a projection 22a (FIG. 3) which is pivotably mounted by a pin 24 on the slide 20. As a result the support plate 22 is pivotable to either side of the slide 20 about the perpendicular axis of the pin 24 by approximately 10.

The support plate 22 is adapted to be clamped on the base plate 10 and for this purpose has an extension 22b (FIG. 3) which co-operates with a clamping jaw 26 carried by the slide 20. The clamping jaw is held by a set screw 26a.

' Means is provided for adjusting the position of the slide 20 in the guideway 10a. An adjusting spindle 28, with a collar 28a, has a threaded end portion engaging in a tapped hole 20a in the slide 20. The spindle 28 is rigidly connected to a setting knob 30. A grooved block 32 surrounds the spindle 28 between the collar 3011 on the setting knob 30 and the collar 2821, and block is adapted'to be anchored to the base plate by means of a clamping plate 34 and a screw 34a. This forms a fixed bearing for the adjusting spindle 28. 'When the setting knob 30 is turned, the slide 20 and the support plate 22 are moved along the rectilinear guideway- 10a.

Two manual levers 36 (FIGURES 1 and 2) are used to clamp the parts 20 and 22 in anw adjusted position which is given them at any time, these levers engaging threaded clamping parts 38. The approximately rectangular knobs 38a of these clamping parts engage in corresponding arcuate recesses-22c of the support plate 22 can be clampedfast to the base plate 10 by operation of the levers 36. e T

The support plate 22 has an arcuate stepped guideway 22d in which anadjusting body 40 is guided in such a way as to be pivotableabout a horizontal axis relatively to support plate 22. The angular adjustment is indicated by a scale 40a on body 40 and a mark 22f on plate 22. The members 22 and can be secured tightly together by means of a number of set screws 41 which are anchored in grooved blocks 41a in a corresponding groove of part 40.

A U-shaped rocking body 42 is adjustable about a horizontal axis substantially perpendicular to the horizontal axis about which the adjusting body 40 is pivotable in two arcuate guideways 40b in the setting body 40. An adjusting spindle 44 which is mounted in the body 40 and is operable by a knob 44a engages in a threaded sleeve 46 (FIG. 3) having a lateral spherical arm 46a which mates with a bore 420 which is directed towards the axis. When the spindle 44 is turned the threaded sleeve 46 is consequently displaced and the arm 46:: thereof inclines the rocking body 42 in its guideway 40b. To clamp the bodies 40 and 42 relatively to one another, use is made of two clamping screws 48 each of which engages in a threaded hole 43a (FIG. 4) of a clamping element 43, each of these screws having a conical end 48a which bears laterally against the internal cone 50a of a further screw 50. The latter draws the clamping element 43 against the guide 40b in such fashion as to engage the rocking body 42 with the body 40 in the position it has taken up at the time. Indicator means (scale and mark) may be provided for indicating the angle of inclination. These means'have not been shown.

A mounting surface 42c (FIG. 3) along the rocking body 42 is used to accommodate the knife 18. This is clamped by a T-shaped bar 52, which is a rectilinear 3 guideway engaging in a correspondingly-shaped longitudinal groove in the knife body. .In addition, this bar engages in a slot in the body 42 and has a conical bore 52a against which the conical end 54a of a set screw 54 mounted in part 42 presses from one side.

In practice it is difiicult to avoid appreciable angular deviations appearing between the longitudinal axis of the preparation and the longitudinal axis of its coating in the course of the preparatory procedure production. When use is made of the adjusting means according to the present invention for rocking the knife blade about three axes which intersect at a point and for shifting the knife in two intersecting directions, the position of the knife blade relatively to the predetermined spacial position of the preparation can, on the one hand, he readily set, and on the other hand, the optimum inclination of the knife for the cutting operation can be selected. The associated clamping screws ensure rapid and firm clamping of the setting means in the operative positions which have been selected for them.

I claim:

1. In a microtome of the class described for cutting a preparation having an axis of which moves in a plane, a knife, means for mounting said knife for pivotal movement about three axes, each of said axes being disposed substantially at right angles with respect to the other two axes and intersecting said other axes substantially at a point lying in the plane of movement of the preparation axis, and separate means for clamping said knife in a preselected adjusted angular position about each of said axes.

2. A microtome according to claim It and further including a base plate, guidew-ays .in said baseplate, a slide disposed in said guideways, said means for mounting the knife being mounted on said slide.

3. A microtome according to claim 1 wherein said means for mounting the knife includes a rectilinear guideway extending substantially parallet with respect to the knife edge and means for clamping said knife in any adjusted position in said rectilinear guideway.

4. A microtome according to claim 3 and further ineluding a base plate, guideways in said base plate, a slide disposed in said guideways, said means for mounting the knife being mounted on said slide, the slide adapted to move in a direction substantially at right angles to the direction of movement of the knife in the rectilinear gui-deway.

5 A microtome according to claim 4 including scale means associated with mounting means to facilitate positioning said knife.

6. A microtome according to claim 2 and further including a manual setting knob for positioning said slide.

7. In a microtome of the class described, a base plate, a rectilinear guideway in said base plate, a slide movable in said guideway, means connected to said slide for positioning said slide in said guideway, a support plate pivoted on said slide whereby said support plate is pivotal about a first axis, means for clamping said support plate in any angular position on said slide, a first arcuate guideway in said support plate, an adjusting body movable in said arcuate guideway so as to be shiftable angularly about a second axis disposed substantially at right angles with respect to the first axis, means for clamping said adjusting body in any preselected angular position with respect to the support plate, a second arcuate guide- Way on said adjusting body, a knife support movable in said second arcuate guideway so as to be shiftable angularly about a third axis disposed substantially at right angles with respect to the first and second axes, means for clamping said knife support in any preselected angular position with respect to the adjusting body, and a knife on said knife support.

8. In a microtome according to claim 7 and further including means mounting said knife on said knife support for movement rectilinearly substantially parallel to the knife edge.

9. In a microtome of the class described for cutting a preparation having an axis which moves in a plane, a knife, means mounting said knife for pivotal movement about three axes, each of said axes being disposed across the other two axes and intersecting said other axes substantially at a point lying in the plane of the movement of the preparation axis, and separate means for clamping said knife in a preselected adjusted angular position about each of said axes.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,875,669 3/1959 Sjorstrand et a]. v 83--170 3,111,054 11/1963 Tishken 83-699 X ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM W. DYER, IR., Examiner.

F. T. YOST, Assistant Examiner. 

9. IN A MICROTOME OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED FOR CUTTING A PREPARATION HAVING AN AXIS WHICH MOVES IN A PLANE, A KNIFE, MEANS MOUNTING SAID KNIFE FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT THREE AXES, EACH OF SAID AXES BEING DISPOSED ACROSS THE OTHER TWO AXES AND INTERSECTING SAID OTHER AXES SUBSTANTIALLY AT A POINT LYING IN THE PLANE OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE PREPARATION AXIS, AND SEPARATE MEANS FOR CLAMP- 